At least… stay for the night…
by Rynoa
Summary: Kakashi while at the hospital after 281 receives an unexpected visit from the past


**SPOILER ALERT: CONTAINS DATABASE FROM THE LATEST CHAPTERS**

**AN: ** For the record, English is not my native English, so if there's a grammatical or orthographic error I apologize (I checked with Microsoft Word, but that thing isn't infallible...). I wrote this in three hours, so I might change it later.

**AN: **Kakashi needs love

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**At least… stay for the night…**

It was dinnertime in Konoha's hospital. The medical-nins quickly rushed around, trying to serve the food to their patients as fastest as they could, since the day shift was just finishing, and they all just wanted to go home, regardless of everything else. Konoha wasn't in war after all. 'At least not physically...' Tsunade sighed as she made her round at each patient. It was a good brake from all that paper work and those damned worries that assaulted her while she was sitting in that desk, with Shizune ringing in her ears constantly. She smiled as she entered the last room, admiring the laid man, so still that he seemed to be asleep. He wasn't though, as Tsunade checked his breathing rhythm.

"How are you feeling Kakashi?" The man was slightly startled as he moved his head awkwardly to face her, the small cloth over his forehead slipping to the floor.

"Hokage-sama! Ah... I'm much better thank you… I just needed some rest…" Tsunade picked the cloth and laid it on the table. Sighing tiredly she sat down in the small chair in his bedside and stared at him as Kakashi detected the food tray, delivered earlier and that he had failed to notice until now.

"Deep in though?" Kakashi waved off, discarding the importance of such observance lack, and pushed the tray near him, inspecting the tray warily. "I see it's not your favourite…" She watched with pleasure his handsome features, scarred by the long scar in his eye that he tried to hide nervously and that none could understand why.

"Hospital food is never good…" A smile crossed Tsunade's face as Kakashi shunned the tray slightly away. "And I never liked Tempura anyway…" Sensing his discomfort, Tsunade rose up.

"My work here is done… I still need to finish some reports before Shizune comes at me again so, good night Kakashi…" Kakashi waved her goodbye as she opened the door. "Ah…" she looked at him sadly. "And I advise you not to think too much over things that happened so long ago… I did that for far too long and I didn't take me anywhere…" Kakashi looked at the bed end, the soft click of the closing door echoing in that lonely room.

Laying down again and pushing the sheet over his mouth, he sighed helplessly, feeling a little more reassured. He wondered briefly where Sakura and Naruto were and if 'Yamato' could handle those too. His eyes shifted to the chair where Tsunade had sat moments ago and smiled bitterly to himself. Discarding the Godaime, he had had his fairly good amount of visits that day. Gai had come three times during the day; to see how is 'eternal rival' was going to be ready for their next rematch, with Lee close at his heels. Kurenai and Asuma had inexplicably showed up at the same hour and had left at the same time too, saying they just arrived from a mission and now where going to report to the Hokage. Gai then had appeared a fourth time, but one of the medical nins had expulsed him, since he was too loud and it was already too late for visits anyway. 'Then… Why do I feel so alone?' It was in this kind of situation, when he wasn't in a mission, or not having one of his beloved 'Icha Icha' Series to read that he felt so utterly alone, and memories from the past would rush in his young but tired brain. 'Obito… Rin… Sensei…' He had lost them all, all dead. His important people. First being Obito and the last Rin. 'And I was the one to blame…' He remembered how much irked he would get at Obito back then, when they were still kids and Obito didn't care about rules, showed up constantly late and came up with he lamest excuses. How 'annoying' Rin was with those lovesick eyes at him, but yet she was so kind and peaceful, standing in the middle of her team members brawling, trying to make peace that she never achieved, even if she was the glue that slicked the three of them together. How sensei's serious face always brightened up at the end of a mission and he offered them a round of ramen at the Ichiraku's, transforming himself in that carefree and joyful person he was, while inside the village. However, he had lost Obito because he had been weak. He had lost Sensei because of that damned Kyuubi and not even cared about his last will. He had lost Rin, that had tried to cope up with her feelings after Obito's death and his refusal at her, by entering ANBU and got herself killed. He had failed them all in the end. And her. Her. Where was she? What had he done to fill the void? ANBU and perverted books. Killing and Entertainment. A chance to make justice for those who hadn't had it in the past and a chance to fantasy about things he had once had but had lost in the end. Why?

What could he do? Nothing. It was all in the past now. All he could do now was to protect the ones that replaced the dead ones. And her. Her.

Sure, he had tried to atone himself from him 'sins'. He had taken Sasuke, an Uchiha just like Obito, and tried to amend the startling resemblances himself and that prodigy had regarding their social skills that had been marked so deeply when they had the age to play around and not be holding kunais. He had tried to get at Naruto for all those years that he hadn't said a thing. And Sakura reminded him of Rin, in love with Sasuke, but the worst part was that she couldn't even improve at her own skills because of that infatuation. But Sasuke had run away to Orochimaru, to obtain power and be able to kill his brother for revenge, betraying his friends and village. Naruto had grew up all alone, full of flaws and imperfections mixed along with his Sensei's attitude, so deeply that it scared him sometimes. And Sakura, who even after three years of solitude and improved skills that challenged even Godaime's talent had still the emotional fault for the Uchiha avenger. He wondered momentarily if that story was going to repeat itself in time, or then they would live happily ever after. 'Probably this story will be much worse…' He rubbed his tired eyes. He wanted his perverted book or a mission. It filled his mind. He didn't think in them. He didn't think in her.

The moon shone through the clean window, the tree shadows swaying melancholy, casting strange patterns inside the room. He watched them idly, his mind resting from the psychological punishment. A larger shadow overlapped the others, and Kakashi sensed someone at the window. Tensing his sore muscles and craning his neck in that fraction of second he glared at the window and was surprised as he saw an all too familiar black cloak with red clouds, a circular straw head obscuring the person's face from him. Kakashi closed his eyes and faked sleep, since he was in no position to fight back openly, but perhaps he had a chance if he got him by surprise. He eared the figure slid the window open and jumping in, the bells attached to the hat tinning. The shinobi sandals gently tapped on the floor as Kakashi felt his presence get nearer and nearer. A splashing sound, then his hand come closer and Kakashi grabbed his hand and pushed a kunai, that had been hidden under his pillow since he had regained conscious some days ago, to this person's neck. He quickly drew his head back and the hat swung precariously then fell to the ground, the bells tinning once more. Kakashi felt a cold liquid rushing down his face as he looked up to see his attacker and was immediately shocked.

"Y-You!" Kakashi stared as the women in front of him that stared right back. The slip that she had stretched out in his forehead had once more fell to the ground.

"You should stay still Kakashi. You're feverish…" She picked the slip and skilfully cleaned it and laid it softly in his forehead once more, her hand o top of it. Her fiery red hair straps were up in a bun, making it stick up everywhere, her chestnut golden brown eyes, big and gleaming, she was still has beautiful as before.

"Wha-What is the meaning of this? I haven't seen you for ten years and now… that's Akatsuki's cloak you…" She nodded.

"Yes… I'm part of that organization…" Kakashi sat up too quickly, and then quickly fell back in the bed, groaning as the headache started the form. He looked at her angrily.

"How…" She cut him off and shrugged.

"That's not important right now…"

"Then why did you come?" She shrugged once more.

"That's not important either…" Kakashi was getting impatient and raised his voice.

"Did you come to kill me then?" She smiled then chuckled softly.

"If I had come for that, I would have killed you already…" Kakashi looked at her slightly surprised but nodded. "And your death doesn't bring anything to our organization, so you may live… I came to visit you, nothing more, since I knew the details from your fight from Itachi… Or Itachi's clone…" She looked over at the food tray Kakashi had rejected earlier. "I know you don't like it but you should eat though…" Kakashi looked away.

"You're not my mother." She smiled bitterly.

"You're right…" A long pause filled the room, and a mixture of feelings took over him. She would have retorted at him in the past. He looked at her sadly, from his half closed eyes, his sharingan eye staring at her intently, an eye that often saw what a normal eye couldn't see, trying to see a ray of the girl he once knew and loved. He gazed at her eyes, trying to find the soft, warm and happy feel that they once held, but instead he only found guilt, regret and shame. He wondered briefly what had happened when she left Konoha with her father and her younger sisters to go and live in Cloud.

"What happened?" He asked, cutting the stressed silence. She shook her head. "Your sisters? Your Dad?"

"I don't want to talk about that…" She paused "Nor them."

"What do you want to talk about then?" he asked angrily. "Why are you here?" She blinked.

"I said I came to see you. I didn't come to talk."

"You're going to just stand there?" she nodded softly. "You just got worried about me then?" she looked down, "Or you got homesick all of a sudden?" she looked to the window, the full moon reflected in her large eyes.

"I came to see you other times… but you never did notice…" He looked at her stunned.

"You did?" She didn't say anything, but rose up opening the window frame.

"I see you're better now. Get some sleep…" Kakashi rose up too, and rested his hand on top of hers at the window frame.

"Why don't you forget all of this and stay with me?" She stared at him intently. "I know I can't provide you the same things you had back then… I just have this apartment… but…" She shook her head sadly.

"I can't... I have something to accomplish…" She shrugged his hand, not crossing her eyes with his. She was halfway through the window when she heard his small voice. Defenceless. Alone. Miserable. Like it was so many years ago, but she knew that he still endure it for the longest time and he would still.

"At least… stay for the night…" She looked at him and contemplated his handsome face, with perfect features and then that harsh scar, slashed deep in his face and that bizarre asymmetry between his black and blood crimson eyes. Such perfection. Ruined. She found him even more striking. His expression was pleading as he clutched her hand. She closed her eyes.

And she stayed.

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**AN**: Leave a review. I feel it lacks something (apart from talent )... 


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